Monday, June 27, 2016

Brexit - The Triumph Of Freedom Over Tyranny

"This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,-
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England."

Britain has voted on whether to stay in the EU or exit. In spite of the 'leave' campaign being massively outspent, demonized in the press and harangued and threatened by foreign leaders including America's President Obama, the British made their choice and they chose clearly to leave.

President Obama in particular had a significant effect on the vote. After his speech threatening that if Britain left the EU they "would go to the back of the queue as far as trade is concerned" and that the special relationship between the U.S. and the UK would be changed, the poll numbers for leave skyrocketed. Nigel Farage, leader of the eurosceptic UK Independence Party (UKip) quipped that Obama's little screed was so helpful to the Brexit camp that he should "come over more often."

The election itself told a clear story about where Britain is today. England and Wales largely voted for Brexit, with the exception of pockets in large cities like Muslim-dominated Tower Hamlets in London. Northern Ireland voted remain, but that was thanks to majorities in locations closer to Eire, the Irish Republic.

The real giveaway was Scotland, which voted 'remain' by almost two to one. More on that later, but the United Kingdom isn't really united anymore.

The issues boiled done to this in Britain's case: money, migrants and sovereignty.

Just take a look at this figure: According to the latest UK Treasury figures, the UK's net contribution to the EU for 2014/15 was £8.8bn - nearly double what it was in 2009/10. What they got back in the form of 'rebates'(mostly in the form of regional development grants and payments to farmers) was just £4.6bn in 2014/15. And this amount doesn't take into consideration various taxes and fees levied on a suffering British public, nor the high cost of complying with EU diktats on virtually all aspects of daily living.

Speaking of EU diktats, another significant factor in this election was Mutti Merkal's unilateral decision to open the EU gates to over a million Muslim migrants with more to come. The unelected EU bureaucrats, believe it or not, actually passed 'legislation' mandating that all EU countries take in a set amount of these Muslim 'refugees' or face a €300,000 fine per refugee for every one refused entry. That fell through when a number of countries flatly refused to comply, but the very fact that the EU minions felt they had the right to try and impose it did not escape notice. That was especially true in Britain where they already have a significant problem with their existing Muslim population, many of whom are disproportionately on the dole.

Another factor, of course, is the schengen visas, which allow these 'refugees' -or for that matter, migrants from any EU country once they're accepted as residents - to automatic access to Britain without any formalities or vetting.

And the final reason was not just that the UK is one of the successful nations in the EU whose taxpayers were propping up countries with failed economies like Spain, Greece and Italy among others. It was the increasing strangulation of national sovereignty by unelected bureaucrats in Brussels.

Behind all this, of course, was an effort to bind Germany to Europe, climaxed with German de facto domination in the name of “European unity.” It's the Germans whom benefit most from the EU scam, since it allows them to value their exports in cheaper euros rather than higher value Deutschmarks. And former East German STASI member Angela Merkel has a first hand knowledge of how such totalitarian control works.

It's no accident that Merkel's new proposal in reaction to Brexit involves transforming what's left of the EU into a kind of superstate, where EU countries would have no control over the right to have their own army, criminal law, taxation system or central bank, as well as control over their own borders, which means they too will be inundated by Muslim 'refugees.'. All of these factors will be controlled and mandated from Brussels:

The foreign ministers of France and Germany are due to reveal a blueprint to effectively do away with individual member states in what is being described as an “ultimatum”. [...]

The plot has sparked fury and panic in Poland - a traditional ally of Britain in the fight against federalism - after being leaked to Polish news channel TVP Info.

The public broadcaster reports that the bombshell proposal will be presented to a meeting of the Visegrad group of countries - made up of Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia - by German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier later today.

Excerpts of the nine-page report were published today as the leaders of Germany, France and Italy met in Berlin for Brexit crisis talks.

Given the sentiment in Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, I doubt this will be well received. And Britain's exit has sparked calls for referendums in other EU countries, particularly Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland and Austria as well as the Visograd countries.

The numbers have undoubtedly gone up since this poll was taken prior to Britain voting to leave.

Of course, France's socialist government has refused to hold a referendum since Hollande's government feeds on EU subsidies. But even if the highly unpopular Hollande isn't removed from office before then, he and the Socialists will have to answer to the voters in 2017. And Marine Le Pen's National Front is growing by leaps and bounds.

The same is true in the Netherlands, where Geert Wilders' Freedom Party (PVV) is likely to double its seats in the Dutch Parliament.

In reaction to Brexit, Wilders said, "We want be in charge of our own country, our own money, our own borders, and our own immigration policy."

“If I become prime minister, there will be a referendum in the Netherlands on leaving the European Union as well. Let the Dutch people decide.”

If I had to guess on which countries will hold referendums next, I'd say traditionally eurosceptic Denmark, Finland, where the few refugees they taken in are not working out at all well and the Visograd countries. Both Denmark and Finland have thriving economies and a traditionally independent nature, and the Visograd countries don't want the Muslim refugees. Spain and Greece are also distinct possibilities, since leaving the debtor's prison the Germans have set up for them would allow them to dump the euro and either pay off their debts in far cheaper drachmas and pesetas or default on them entirely. Neither country has a thriving economy anyway and no one is going to lend them any more significant money in the near future, so they have little to lose. Also, both are popular tourist spots and that isn't going to change either, so cheaper currencies would make vacations in those countries a bargain. And what they do produce, mostly agricultural and food products, could be priced very competitively on the markets.

Fortunately, Britain held onto the Pound rather then being sucked into the euro, so after a period of fluctuation, the UK's basically strong economy should survive just fine. Both Norway and Switzerland likewise decided not to join the EU, kept their own currency and negotiated good trade agreements with the EU. Regardless of the bitterness Merkel and others might have, they will have to do the same with the UK or suffer the loss of millions in trade, money the EU or what's left of it is going to need badly.

Another bonus for Britain is that since the Pound has dropped, her exports will be far cheaper and thus more desirable worldwide.

Another change in store is a major change in Britain's politics. Tory PM David Cameron has already said he's resigning as soon as possible, probably by this fall. And his likely successor is none other than London's former Conservative mayor, Boris Johnson, a firm nationalist whom many Brits regard as the UK's Donald Trump.

Johnson campaigned heavily for 'leave' and has become quite popular in the Conservative Party as a result. According to all the polls, he's the odds on favorite to replace David Cameron as head of the party and the UK's Prime Minister.

Meanwhile, Britain's far left Labour Party is in major trouble.

Labour's openly anti-semitic, pro-Hamas and pro-Hezbollah party leader Jeremy Corbyn has already cost Labour many of its traditional supporters. But his ineffective campaign for 'remain' caused most of Labour's shadow cabinet* to resign and for him to fire others who expressed doubts about his leadership. He appears to have no intention of quitting as party leader, which is going to be problematic come the next election.

Another problem Labour has is the probable loss of a major source of votes, Scotland. The majority of votes that used to go Labour are now going to the socialist Scottish National Party (SNP), and post Brexit, Labour is likely to be shut out entirely. Scotland likes those EU subsidies very much, thank you and voted almost two to one to stay in the EU. The SNP will almost certainly push for a new referendum for independence from Britain.

Of course, it remains to be seen whether the referendum happens and it passes (it likely will if it's held, in my opinion)and if it does, whether the EU if it still exists would allow it in as a member. Taken by itself, Scotland would be, after all, one of those countries who receives far more from the EU than it contributes.

An independent Scotland would likely doom Labour to minority status for quite some time. with Labour non-competitive and a leader like Boris Johnson in charge, we might very well see a resurgent Britain.

If the Brexit vote proves noting else, it shows that the British Lion still retains some of its teeth and that what Winston Churchill called 'this Island race' still retains a lot of its age old love for freedom.

* 'Shadow cabinet' is the term used in the British system to describe faux cabinet ministers named by the opposition party that's not in power. So for instance, there might be a shadow foreign minister, a shadow education minster, et cetera. They have no actual power, but are supposedly experts or at least knowledgeable in their area who keep up with their specialty and might or might not assume those portfolios if their party won the next election.

The reason for this is that unlike many other countries, there's no 'lame duck' period, and power can change hands immediately after an election or a vote of no confidence so these 'shadow ministers' could actually assume those portfolios as real ministers in that event.